Desperate Journey

by Jim Murphy

Two-time Newbery Honor author turns his formidable talents to this riveting suspense novel about a spirited Irish-American girl who helps save her family from ruin on the Erie Canal in the 1840s.

When Maggie's father loses next year's salary and two of their best mules in a bet with Long-fingered John, the family is left desperate for money. They have only a few days to get the heavy cargo in their mule-drawn barge to Buffalo in order to make a much-needed bonus. But when Papa and Uncle Henry are arrested on an alleged assault charge, 12-year-old Maggie, her younger brother, and their ailing mother must fight all manner of adversity to save their boat, their mules, and their life savings. Jim Murphy is at his best in this colorful and gritty slice of 19th-C. life on the Erie Canal.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, School, Childrens, Middle Grade, Family

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

An American author of more than 35 nonfiction and fiction books for children, young adults, and general audiences, including more than 30 about American history. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for his contribution in writing for teens. Jim lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, in a hundred-year-old house with his wife Alison Blank, a children’s TV producer and children’s book author and editor, his two talented musician sons, a regal mutt, an African water frog that will live forever, and a house vast collection of books..

Reviews

[Challice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Murphy is one of my favorite authors. He knows how to weave the right words and pull you into history without knowing that you are actually reading history.

That being said here are some things that I think some conservative minded parents would have some qualms about this;
a) the attitude between the brother and sister. They banter back and forth. If that bothers you, then beware there is a fair chunk of that in here. To fully understand, this is a family of 4, plus 1 uncle, living on a boat as they go up and down the Erie canal. It was a hard, hard life. On top of that, mom is very sick (obvious to the parent what is going on but I did have a couple moments of self-doubting), a dad and a uncle that is kind of known for drinking, gambling, and being an all around tough guy.
b) It is actually through that persona that they family finds themselves in their current predicament which is to meet a deadline, receive a bonus, and be able to keep their boat after loosing almost all their money and livelihood to the villain of this story which is Long-Finger-John. John is a bully and loves to instigate fights. Like that pesky mosquito that pecks and pecks as you slap away and then finally can withdraw not only blood but your wrath, Long-Fingered-John is just like that. This may be the other part that I can see parents having an issue with harsh villain that ends up in a bloody fight with Dad at the end, and flashback throughout the book. Dad ends up beating John to a pulp and winning back his earnings and saving the family. If you don't want that in your kids head, this may not be the book for you.
c) Maggie, the main character, has an infatuation with an Irish boy from the boat. He has a nice smile that he gave her and she ends up thinking about him a lot and how she can see more or imagines situations with him. Nothing risque, but there is the "boy crazy" aspect. It was actually the biggest disappointment of the book.

I really did enjoy this more than I thought. It was a different kind of pioneering. Jim Murphy also explained more of how the Erie Canal worked, how it replaced wagon transportation of goods because it was cheaper, and then railroads replaced the Erie Canal, however it is still being used today! So, again, lots of amazing information. I would recommend for ages 12-13+

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mark of a good book--particuarly a nonfiction or historical fiction book--is if it makes a subject that you have little or no interest in as a whole so remarkably fascinating and interesting that the book becomes not a dull lesson in the past but a genuine page-turner. Take for example, DESPERATE JOURNEY by Jim Murphy. I have never shown any interest whatsoever in the history of the Erie Canal or any other canal for that matter. (In fact other than knowing that the canal had something to do with rivers, I wouldn’t have had a clue as to what it was or where it was.) I never would have gone out looking for a book about this subject. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Desperate Journey. Having been familiar with some of the author’s previous works (An American Plague and The Great Fire), I noticed his most recent publication. Jim Murphy is known for writing nonfiction, but Desperate Journey is a historical novel. Set in the early nineteenth century, Maggie Haggerty, our heroine narrator, is unforgettable. Twelve years old, she bears a large burden. Her family has just days--literally four or five days--to sail their boat and its heavy cargo to Buffalo. It will be a long and difficult journey. With two sets of mules pulling their way, there is always something to be done either driving the mules, steering the boat, or cooking, cleaning, and mending for the family. What makes a difficult journey even worse is when their father and uncle are arrested by a sheriff and accused of assaulting a man in a bar along one of their stops. Now it is up to her, her brother, and her mother (who is pregnant) to try to make it to Buffalo on time and unload its cargo or else their boat and everything they own will be lost. Is any amount of determination and hard work enough? And how can they deal with bullies up and down the canals?

It is an interesting journey. Well-written. Well-developed. A surprisingly enjoyable read about an often neglected subject.

[Carol Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read more of Jim Murphy's nonfiction than fiction. I haven't checked, but I bet he has a nonfiction book about the canals. This compelling story is set on a canal that runs across northern New York state. Maggie's family is desperate to make it to Buffalo with their load in time to earn the promised bonus. Pappa lost all the famly's money in a fight with Long-Fingered John so if they don't earn the bonus, they will lost their boat - their home. Although Pappa has a reputation as a fighter, he is most likely innocent when he is arrested for beating up one of Long-Fingered's men, who now lies in a coma. Although Pappa is locked up, the bonus deadline is the same, so it's up to Maggie, her brother, Eamon, and Mama, who has been feeling poorly, to get the load to Buffalo in time. An odd little man, Billy Black shows up along the canal route, offering to help, as he says God has instructed him. This is not a family to accept charity, though, and they can't afford to pay anyone. Maggie had better find some true grit or what will become of them?

[Leeann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history in this book is very enlightening. We've all heard of the Erie Canal but few of us know what life was like for the people who used the waters for hauling freight. This book gives the reader a glimpse of the sense of community created among the haulers, the hardships and challenges of moving freight in a canal, and the successes experienced in spite of those hardships and challenges.

The pace of the book is fast enough to maintain interest and the characters are enjoyable. I like the details of daily life on the boat, including the respect and care given to the donkeys. I especially like Billy Black and his perseverance.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murphy, Jim Desperate Journey, 272 p. Scholastic –

Maggie and her family live and work on the Erie Canal. If they don’t get their current load to the city on time, they will probably loose their boat and their livelihood. Along their way, however, their father and uncle are arrested on trumped up charges. Maggie, her mother and her brother must somehow get the boat there on time.

While the writing and pacing are excellent, the subject matter will probably not draw students to the novel. If you have a teacher who requires an American Historical fiction read, then add this to your collection. Otherwise, you will need to sell this title.

EL, MS-OPTIONAL

[Jeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of age story about a family traversing the Erie Canal delivering goods from one end to the other, over and over. Their boats and mules were the delivery system. Interesting descriptions of how the locks work, and the life of the canal families. When her father and uncle are unable to help make an important delivery, 13 year old Maggie, her younger brother Eamon and her mother, along with a host of others who make the Erie Canal their home, prove that a town is not necessarily geography. Good YA.

[Darcie Saunier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Murphy is one of my favorite Young Adult authors. This was a very well done YA historical fiction novel about life on the Erie Canal. It had adventure and suspense and I read it in a day! Murphy shows how rough life was on the canal, while also giving a nod to the growth of spiritualism in the era. Great read!

[Mazzou B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for young readers. One of a kind (in my experience), it spotlights a pioneer family's life on the Erie Canal!
There is some slight language (not the worst) but nothing else bad.

[Abigail G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story full of realistic turmoil that captured the mind of a young teen living on the Erie Canal.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a somewhat realistic historical story of the Erie Canal and the barges that travelled it providing goods and services along the river. In this story, the family of the heroine has hit hard times and owes money. If a delivery is not made to Buffalo in time to receive a bonus, they will lose their barge. Along the way, the father and uncle are arrested for an attempted murder. The girl, her young brother, and sick mother head to Buffalo knowing they can't help until the bonus is received. Along the way, they attract a man who says that God has sent him to help. They turned him down as he seemed to crazy and they couldn't pay him. But as the mules pulled the bargeup the river he walked along side and helped run interference when they had problems.

The story is of perseverance and not giving up. It is also a story of a hard type of work performed over the years on the Erie Canal. This is the only book I know of that covers this subject for young readers. Jim Murphy has done well again!

[Kim Van Sickler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of action, but villain Long-Fingered John is given way too much power in this historical MG novel. I found myself getting angrier and angrier at the father who allowed the canal bully to take all of his family's life savings when Long-Fingered John won a brawl (how exactly is it that this father who supposedly only uses his fists when he has to, feels compelled to accept this insane challenge?), and the mother who didn't want to accept help when her husband and his helper were thrown in jail, but had no problem pushing her two young children to drive the mules an ungodly number of miles every day to make their delivery on time so they'd earn their bonus. By the time a mysterious shaggy stranger shows up and has to actually follow the canal boat on foot begging to be of some use, I wanted to wring the mother's neck.

[Nitrorockets · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Haggerty family are canal folk. They spend most of the year hauling goods along the Erie canal. Maggie is the oldest and spends most of her day daydreaming and arguing with her younger brother. When's she not trying to justify her abilities to her brother, father, and uncle, she's trying to get approval from her mother. When her father is wrongly accused of a crime it's up to her, her brother, and her ill mother to make the trip to Buffalo to save the family from financial ruin. The days were long and full of hardship. Maggie struggles to keep positive despite her deep longing to be free from her heavy load of chores. Taking her challenges as they come she learns how important each person is to the family's success.

[Phair · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this was a good book, very descriptive with lots about the day-to-day workings of the Erie Canal in the 1840's I think I rated it high because it brought back so many memories of a wonderful trip that included a visit to the Erie Canal Village living museum where we got to ride in a canal boat drawn by mule (remarkably silent ride). I noted in my journal that once I started reading this, the Erie Canal song [Ed Ames version:] started playing in my head and persisted for the entire book. The story ended up being quite good- nice sense of family and community working together to overcome adversity.

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

MY STAR RATING:

5 stars - Books that blew my mind and that I'll definitely reread/recommend.

4 stars - Not quite as mind-blowing as my favorite books, but still worthy of a reread.

3 stars - Pretty good books that I enjoyed but aren't in my list of top favorites. May reread.

2 stars - Books that are anything but great, but that I'll give more than one star.

1 star - This is reserved for truly awful books that I would never, ever recommend or reread.

This book was pretty good, but it was geared more toward younger kids and I could pretty much guess the entire plot as I was reading. XD I enjoyed learning about the Erie Canal, though! 3 stars. :D

[Donna Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptionally good picture of life on the Erie Canal with all its nasty characters and challenges. The heroine, a fourteen-year-old girl must help her parents and uncle get their load of freight to Buffalo on time to collect a bonus payment, or lose their boat. Murphy knows the minds of young teens and reveals their frailties and strengths with great depth and skill. The pacing of the story and the twists and turns of the plot keep the reader engaged.

[Lupinus Texensis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid book, but like other things I've read by Murphy, it tends to lack a sense of place and time. And, yes, an accurate girl voice. That said, it introduced me to the world of "canalers" and a economic canal boom that I was otherwise in ignorance of.

[John Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

• DESPERATE JOURNEY STRANDED AFTER THEIR PLANE HAS CRASHED IN THE NORTHERN FORESTS OF CANADA, MARTLUK -AN ESKIMO BOY AND HIS THREE AMERICAN COMPANIONS FACE THE LONG ARCTIC WINTER WITH NO CHANCE OF RESCUE

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible story of family survival. Maggie must help her pregnant mother and younger brother get the family barge to upstate New York via the Erie Canal to earn much needed money.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good historical fiction, but Murphy is definitely at his best with nonfiction.

[Cory · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of historical fiction anyway, and this one was particularly boring. And I didn't like the characters at all.

[Vivi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really thinks this book is really descriptive, and the action in the book were intense.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat young adult historical fiction about a family that worked on the Erie Canal. Neat too that I know a lot of the cities and towns mentioned along the canal.

[Stormy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this on our shelf - Scholastic Publication - 12 yr old girl & 9 yr old brother - Eric Canal travels in mid 1800s. Wonder when our grandchildren would be ready for this?

[Susan Phillips]

My 4th graders loved it- Erie canal history, bar brawls, mystery, a slew of shady characters, and a little romance thrown in.

[Cole Webster]

This book is a book taking place on the 1800s Erie Canal. Dad and Uncle Hen get arrested, and they have to make it to Buffalo in time for the bonus; however, Maggie and Eamon (the kids) find out that Mom is expecting a third child. Meanwhile Dad and Uncle Hen are scheduled to go on trial, and whether they're guilty or not hinges on the arrival of the rest of the family.